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Verdun: the endless battle
Historian article
Most can agree that the battle of Verdun started 100 years ago, on 21 February 1916, when the Germans began attacking French positions north and east of the old fortress town on the Meuse river. Few can agree on when it ended. The Germans might draw a line under it...
Verdun: the endless battle
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Sharing The Past: Northamptonshire's Black History
Book Review
Northamptonshire Black History Association Pub 2008; ISBN:978 0 9557139 1 0; £12.95 [+£2.30 p and p] from: NBHA, Doddridge Centre, 109 St James Road, Northampton, NN5 5LD.
How fortunate Northamptonshire history teachers are! With the current emphasis on community cohesion and diversity in the New Secondary Curriculum, they are presented...
Sharing The Past: Northamptonshire's Black History
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The Phoney War: teaching WWII
Primary History article
The term ‘phoney war’ refers to the period at the beginning of WWII between September 1939 and April 1940 when there was little fighting. It was brought to an abrupt end by the German invasion of Norway in April 1940. The term is thought to have been coined by an...
The Phoney War: teaching WWII
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Carr, Evans, Oakshott and Rudge: the benefits of AEA history
Teaching History article
Sometimes the only way to go beyond the exam is to take another, more difficult, test. For the top—the very top—A2 students, there is such a test available. The Advanced Extension Award [AEA] is a history paper which encourages students finishing their school careers to think about history in a...
Carr, Evans, Oakshott and Rudge: the benefits of AEA history
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The Great Debate Final 2024
25th March 2024
Winner:
Emma Crow of Broxburn Academy, Broxburn, Scotland
Runners up:
Abigail Powers of The Ladies’ College, Guernsey
Erica Wright of William Farr School, Lincolnshire
Rachel McGarry of Shavington Academy, Crewe, Cheshire
Finalists
Sofia Ntege, North Oxfordshire Academy, Banbury
Harry Gray, Exeter School, Exeter
Rhea Cherrington, Bablake School, Coventry
Molly Grimshaw,...
The Great Debate Final 2024
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The Swansea Branch Chronicle 12
Branch Publication
3 From the Editor
4 Wheels in Wales - Ian Smith
7 Civil Aviation - John Ashley
10 Wagons away - Richard Hall
13 ‘Sketty Hall’ - John Law
14 The Bus Museum - Greg Freeman
16 The Mary Herberd - Ralph Griffiths
18 Trolley Buses - Roger Atkinson
20...
The Swansea Branch Chronicle 12
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Recorded webinar series: Jane Austen and Georgian England
Multipage Article
Join us for a journey through Georgian history, literature and society – all from the comfort of your own home. Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, this rich, interdisciplinary webinar series from the Historical Association delves into the vibrant world of the Georgians through the lens of one of...
Recorded webinar series: Jane Austen and Georgian England
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Do Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children see themselves in your history classroom?
Helen Snelson and Richard Kerridge; resources from HA conference session, Bristol, May 2022
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people are the largest minority ethnic group in some communities (and therefore in some schools) in the UK.
Richard Kerridge and Helen Snelson have worked with the historian Professor Becky Taylor to produce a range of teaching resources for teaching the history of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller...
Do Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children see themselves in your history classroom?
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The Bibliography of British and Irish History
An Extensive Online Guide
The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) is the most extensive guide available to published writing on British and Irish history. It covers the history of British and Irish relations with the rest of the world, including the British empire and the Commonwealth, as well as British and Irish...
The Bibliography of British and Irish History
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Ideas for Assemblies: Battle of the Somme
Article
Commemorating the Battle of the Somme through an assembly is not an easy task and one which needs careful thought and preparation. This battle officially started on 1 July 1916, after a week-long artillery bombardment, though both British and French commanders had prepared for the offensive for several months. To highlight...
Ideas for Assemblies: Battle of the Somme
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Coventry Branch Pamphlets
Multipage Article
Since its foundation in 1906 local branches have been the life-blood of the Historical Association. Their number, size, location and activities have varied greatly over the intervening years but a few branches have produced their own publications, most notably Bristol and Coventry. In a series which ran from 1964 to...
Coventry Branch Pamphlets
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Recorded webinar series: The history that Shakespeare gave us
Multipage Article
To mark the anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s first folio in 1623–24, our 2024 winter webinar series focused on ‘The history that Shakespeare gave us’. The representation of the past in Shakespeare’s plays has shaped many people’s understanding of history. In this webinar series, leading academics explore the history that is...
Recorded webinar series: The history that Shakespeare gave us
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So was everyone an ancient Egyptian?
Developing an understanding of the world in ancient times
I will be honest – no child has actually asked me if the world was ever full of Ancient Egyptians! Having said that, by focusing on one part of the world, children are left with either this impression or the idea that nothing was happening elsewhere in the world. Clearly,...
So was everyone an ancient Egyptian?
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Podcast: Why Medieval History Matters?
Medieval History
Why Medieval History Matters, Professor Anne Curry, President of the HA ‘I don't mind there being some medievalists around for ornamental purposes, but there is no reason for the state to pay for them'. So, allegedly, said Charles Clarke when Education Secretary in 2003. In fact, medieval history has never...
Podcast: Why Medieval History Matters?
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Recorded webinar series: The Olympic Games
Culture and political impact across the twentieth century
2024 was an Olympic Games year. Held every four years (with the exception of during the World Wars and Covid-19 restrictions), the modern Olympics is the largest international sporting event in the world. However, historically it has not always been just the sports that are played and the athletes’ performances...
Recorded webinar series: The Olympic Games
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An Interview with Antony Beevor (Film)
Antony Beevor, the Medlicott Medal awardee for 2016, tells us his thoughts….
The 2016 Medlicott Medal for services to history will be presented to Antony Beevor this July. He is a popular historian with a loyal following while also being a heavy duty writer whose preparation and research for each of his books takes him years and into archives across the world....
An Interview with Antony Beevor (Film)
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Recorded webinar series: Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the UN Convention on Genocide
Multipage Article
9 December 2023 was the 75th anniversary of the passing of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (known as the UN Convention on Genocide). The convention was a clear statement by the international community that crimes of that nature should never happen...
Recorded webinar series: Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the UN Convention on Genocide
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‘It’s kind of like the geography part of history, isn’t it, Miss?’
Teaching History article
Verity Morgan took an unusual approach to the challenge of teaching the Holocaust, coming to it through the lens of environmental history. She shares here the practical means and resources she used to engage pupils with this current trend in historiography, and its associated concepts.
Reflecting on her pupils’ responses,...
‘It’s kind of like the geography part of history, isn’t it, Miss?’
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Polychronicon 161: John Lilburne
Teaching History feature
John Lilburne might have been destined for obscurity in less interesting times. He was the second son of a minor gentry family, apprenticed to a London woollen merchant in 1632. It was his master’s connections that drew him into religious opposition to Charles I and the illegal book trade, resulting...
Polychronicon 161: John Lilburne
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Revising the Elizabethans
Revising the Elizabethans
In this series of podcasts Andy Harmsworth offers some advice and suggestions to help you when revising the Elizabethans for the GCSE History Exam.
Revising the Elizabethans
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The Dawson Lectures
Multipage Article
In 2021, Ian Dawson suggested there should be a place and a way for us to honour and respect those who have gone above and beyond to help support, nurture and promote those involved with teaching, as well as producing resources and guidance that can assist teachers with developing their...
The Dawson Lectures
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New, Novice or Nervous? 162: GCSE Thematic Study
Teaching History feature: the quick guide to the no-quick-fix
Thematic studies have been a long-standing feature of the Schools History Project (SHP) GCSE specifications in England and Wales; but for teachers of ‘Modern World’ GCSE specifications, the thematic study in the new GCSE specifications for teaching in England from September 2016 is unfamiliar territory. Perhaps you are entirely new...
New, Novice or Nervous? 162: GCSE Thematic Study
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Cunning Plan 162: Transferring knowledge from Key Stage 3 to 4
Teaching History feature
Planning to deliver the new GCSE specifications presents a challenge and an opportunity to any history department, whatever their previous specification. The sweep of history that students will now study at GCSE is much broader than ‘Modern World’ departments are used to; including a medieval or early modern depth study...
Cunning Plan 162: Transferring knowledge from Key Stage 3 to 4
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Podcast Series: Confronting Controversial History
Podcast Series
Controversial History formed the focus of the Historical Association’s report, Teaching Emotive and Controversial History 3-19 (TEACH). Published in 2007, it offered teachers invaluable guidance for teaching historical topics that can stir emotion and controversy. However, the authors noted how the nature of the sensitivity can be affected by ‘time, geography and...
Podcast Series: Confronting Controversial History
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French chivalry in twelfth-century Britain?
Historian article
The year 1066 - the one universally remembered date in English history, so well-known that banks advise customers not to choose it as their PIN number - opened the country up to French influence in spectacular fashion. During the ‘long twelfth century' (up to King John's death in 1216) that...
French chivalry in twelfth-century Britain?
